Violence against women

Men and boys subjected to sexual violence in Syria and in displacement, a UNHCR study confirms The number of men and boys suffering sexual violence within Syria and as refugees in surrounding countries remains unknown. UNHCR sheds light on the under-explored issue of SVM and calls for further investigation.

Saltanat Tursynbekova, Special Assistant to the General Prosecutor of the Republic of Kazakhstan, initiated and now leads a multi-sectoral initiative to address violence against women, so that no one is left behind. For the first time in Kazakhstan, a team of experts travelled to women in towns and

At only 16 years old, Laura* has already experienced intimate partner violence. "For two years, I put up with verbal and even physical abuse," she said, referring to an ex-boyfriend. "It's one of the worst things I have ever experienced.

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Sixteen Days of Activism against Gender Violence UNITE campaign's theme "Leave No One Behind" emphasizes the urgency of reaching the most marginalized first, as the 16 Days of Activism begins worldwide.

"That's what's left of my teeth after my husband beat me," Ameera* said at a women's shelter in south-western Yemen. She held out three white shards, which she keeps as evidence for her divorce proceedings. "He hit me so hard he broke my teeth and nose," she told UNFPA.

Khin Khin shudders when she thinks about walking in the dark from her shelter to the shared toilet. "I never feel safe to go to the toilet at night," she said. In Myanmar, 1.5 million people have no toilet in their home or yard.

Following a visit to Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar, where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar have settled in makeshift camps, a United Nations envoy has called for enhanced measures to protect and assist victims of sexual violence among the displaced population.

Today in Vancouver, at the 2017 UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the launch of a new initiative, named after the trailblazing Canadian feminist icon Elsie MacGill, to help increase women's participation in peacekeeping operations. In the same